Hydrangea 'BloomStruck'

Talk about color! 'Bloomstruck' hydrangea develops wave after wave of blue or pink ball-shape flowers on rich red stems. So, even when this hardy newcomer takes a momentary break from blooming, the plants' bright stems maintain the color show. 'Bloomstruck' is also heat-tolerant and resistant to powdery mildew.

Name:Hydrangea macrophylla 'Bloomstruck'

Growing Conditions: full sun, partial shade

Size: 3-4 feet tall, 4-5 feet wide

Zones: 4-9

Bloom Time: May-September

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Hydrangea 'Haas' Halo'

Imagine a lacecap hydrangea with flower heads that measure over a foot in diameter. That's what you get with 'Haas' Halo' hydrangea. The flowers appear all summer long and are held on sturdy stems that won't flop over with the first gust of wind. Use 'Haas' Halo' as a foundation or eye-catching specimen plant in your landscape.

Name:Hydrangea arborescens 'Haas' Halo'

Growing Conditions: full sun, partial shade

Size: 3-5 feet tall and wide

Zones: 3-9

Bloom Time: June-October

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Rose 'The Lady Gardener'

Enjoy rich color and fragrance with 'The Lady Gardener' rose. This many-petaled English-style rose sports gorgeous peonylike, apricot flowers throughout the summer. And if the flowers don't delight you, its fragrance will, often described as a mix of cedarwood and vanilla. 'The Lady Gardener' forms a medium-size shrub, which is a good option for small-space gardens and containers.

Clematis 'Pink Mink'

Let 'Pink Mink' clematis smother an arbor or trellis with its delightful candy-pink flowers with rose-pink highlights. Blooming all summer long, 'Pink Mink' is a fast-growing variety that can reach 10 feet in length. It's also super hardy and will thrive with little attention from you.

Name: Clematis 'Pink Mink'

Growing Conditions: full sun, partial shade

Size: 10 feet tall, 6 feet wide

Zones: 4-9

Bloom Time: June-August

Image: Proven Winners

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Clethra 'Einstein'

It doesn't take a genius to know that 'Einstein' clethra is a smart choice for your garden. With its wildly unkempt flower stalks of honey-sweet white flowers, 'Einstein' makes a brilliant low hedge or container plant. Plus it's as attractive to bees and butterflies as it is to you.

Name: Clethra 'Einstein'

Growing Conditions: full sun

Size: 3-4 feet tall and wide

Zones: 6-9

Bloom Time: July-August

Image: Star Roses

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Hydrangea 'Hokomano'

Not all hydrangeas have pink or blue flowers. 'Hokomano' is truly different, producing bicolor, celery green-and-white flower heads with purple centers. This hardy new mophead hydrangea blooms on new and old wood so it will be in almost constant bloom from May to September.

Sambucus 'Lemony Lace'

Not every plant has to produce showy flowers to provide color and texture to your garden. Take 'Lemony Lace' sambucus for example. Also known as ornamental elderberry, this handsome shrub is covered in finely cut, chartreuse leaves that add pizzazz to beds, borders, and containers. 'Lemony Lace' does produce reddish-white flowers, but the leaves are why you need to grow this plant.

Name:Sambucus racemosa 'Lemony Lace'

Growing Conditions: partial sun, full sun

Size: 3-5 feet tall and wide

Zones: 3-7

Bloom Time: June

Image: Proven Winners

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Rose 'Maid Marion'

The large, pink, corsage-worthy flowers of 'Maid Marion' English rose will steal your heart. Each mounded plant develops masses of sweetly scented flowers throughout the summer. Use 'Maid Marion' in the perennial border or in containers.

Name:Rosa 'Maid Marion'

Growing Conditions: full sun

Size: 3 feet tall and wide

Zones: 5-10

Bloom Time: June-August

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Clematis 'Sugar-Sweet Blue'

As fragrant as it is colorful, 'Sugar-Sweet Blue' clematis is one of the first single-flowering clematis that emits a rich, gardenialike scent. Growing 9 feet tall, 'Sugar-Sweet Blue' shows off star-shape, periwinkle blue blooms from April to June. Plant it near your house so you can enjoy its sweet scent at close range.

Name: Clematis 'Sugar-Sweet Blue'

Growing Conditions: full sun, partial shade

Size: 6-9 feet tall, 18-24 inches wide

Zones: 5-11

Bloom Time: April-June

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Distylium 'Linebacker'

The greatest shrub you've never heard of, 'Linebacker' distylium is a hard-charging evergreen shrub that can take tons of abuse without breaking a sweat. It sports reddish new growth that slowly turns a lustrous dark green. A member of the witch hazel family, 'Linebacker' sends up small bright red flowers in the late winter. The plants are pest- and disease-resistant and make an outstanding hedge or specimen plant.

Name: Distylium 'Linebacker'

Growing Conditions: full sun, partial shade

Size: 8-10 feet tall, 6-8 feet wide

Zones: 7-9

Bloom Time: March

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Aloe 'Safari Sunrise'

Hot, dry conditions are no match for 'Safari Sunrise' aloe. In fact, this super drought-tolerant shrubby succulent is ideal for thirsty landscapes in the Southwest and California. 'Safari Sunrise' gets its name from its bicolor pink-and-white flowers that are held above bright green, toothed foliage. It's a quick-growing variety that will bloom the first season it's planted and continue to flower all summer long.

Name:Aloe barbadensis 'Safari Sunrise'

Growing Conditions: full sun

Size: 3 feet tall and wide

Zones: 9-11

Bloom Time: May-September

Image: Ball

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Ceanothus 'Marie Gold'

You'll come to treasure 'Marie Gold' ceanothus. This easy-care shrub has bright yellow foliage that's topped with frothy pink flowers during the summer. Plus, after the flowers fade they form bright red seed capsules for an extra jolt of color. 'Marie Gold' is also heat- and salt-tolerant, making it an ideal choice for seaside locations. Hummingbirds and butterflies will flock to its nectar-rich blooms.

Name: Ceanothus 'Marie Gold'

Growing Conditions: full sun, partial shade

Size: 2-4 feet tall, 3 feet wide

Zones: 6-9

Bloom Time: June-August

Image: Spring Meadow

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Crepe Myrtle 'Midnight Magic'

A color breakthrough in the world of crepe myrtles, 'Midnight Magic' develops rich purple foliage that doesn't fade even when heat and humidity skyrockets. Masses of dark pink flowers appear in July and continue popping into bloom through September. The plants have a compact, rounded form and are highly disease-resistant. A close cousin, 'Moonlight Magic' is also being introduced. It has the same pretty purple foliage, but it has white flowers and grows 10 feet tall.

Name: Lagerstroemia 'Midnight Magic'

Growing Conditions: full sun

Size: 4-6 feet tall and wide

Zones: 6-9

Bloom Time: July-September

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Rose 'Above and Beyond'

Finally there's a climbing rose that's hardy enough to survive northern winters. 'Above and Beyond' rose is a rugged newcomer that develops eye-catching clusters of semidouble to double, apricot-yellow flowers in the late spring. It has superb cane hardiness and will even survive Minnesota winters. 'Above and Beyond' is also resistant to fungal diseases.

Name:Rosa 'Above and Beyond'

Growing Conditions: full sun

Size: 10-14 feet tall, 5-6 feet wide

Zones: 3-7

Bloom Time: May-July

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Rose 'Thomas Becket'

If your taste runs to cottage-style gardens, then 'Thomas Becket' rose is the one for you. This new English rose has an open, shrubby growth habit that fits perfectly in a loose, informal garden. What's more, this beauty is covered in medium-size, light red flowers that fade to carmine as they age. And, the flowers have a rich old rose fragrance with a hint of lemon zest.

Name:Rosa 'Thomas Becket'

Growing Conditions: full sun

Size: 3-4 feet tall and wide

Zones: 5-10

Bloom Time: June-August

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Clematis 'Burning Love'

Perfect for large containers or small gardens, 'Burning Love' clematis grows only 6-9 feet tall, so it's easily trained on a trellis or allowed to climb up and through small flowering trees, such as crabapple or redbud. But just because it's compact doesn't mean it's not dripping with color. Each plant is clothed in velvety red, open-face flowers in the late summer. 'Burning Love' is also highly resistant to clematis wilt.

Rose 'Screaming Neon Red'

The newest member of the Easy Elegance rose family, 'Screaming Neon Red' lives up to its name with intense scarlet flowers that appear nonstop throughout the summer. Its compact growth and disease-resistance make 'Screaming Neon Red' a top pick for landscape use. As an added bonus, the foliage turns burgundy-red in the fall.

Name:Rosa 'Screaming Neon Red'

Growing Conditions: full sun

Size: 3-4 feet tall, 2-3 feet wide

Zones: 4-9

Bloom Time: June-September

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Spirea 'Double Play Blue Kazoo'

Looking for a flowering shrub that almost takes care of itself? Well check out 'Double Play Blue Kazoo' spirea. This super-hardy variety is as versatile as it is colorful. 'Double Play Blue Kazoo' is prized for its unique blue-green leaves topped with bold white flowers in the spring. Young foliage has hints of burgundy that gives the plant an eye-catching two-tone appearance. And, once fall rolls around, the leaves turn bright red. Let 'Double Play Blue Kazoo' add much-needed color along a driveway, sidewalk, or street.

Name: Spirea 'Double Play Blue Kazoo'

Growing Conditions: full sun, partial shade

Size: 24-36 inches tall and wide

Zones: 3-8

Bloom Time: May-June

Image: Proven Winners

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Rose 'The Albrighton Rambler'

Over the years, rambling roses have almost fallen out of favor because they bloom once and then close up shop for the season. But 'The Albrighton Rambler' is a different story. This delightful charmer flowers all summer long, producing sprays of small, fragrant, pale pink, semidouble flowers. Use 'The Albrighton Rambler' along a fence or wall where its 12-foot-long canes can arch and weave to their heart's content. This new rambler is also disease-resistant.

Name:Rosa 'The Albrighton Rambler'

Growing Conditions: full sun

Size: 10-12 feet tall, 3-4 feet wide

Zones: 5-10

Bloom Time: June-August

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Deutzia 'Yuki Cherry Blossom'

Small bouquets of dazzling pink flowers dance over the dark green foliage of 'Yuki Cherry Blossom' deutzia. Growing just 12-24 inches tall, this hardworking shrub makes an excellent edging or groundcover plant. Mix 'Yuki Cherry Blossom' with other flowering shrubs in the border or mass it as a low-maintenance solution to open spaces in your landscape.

Name: Deutzia 'Yuki Cherry Blossom'

Growing Conditions: partial sun, sun

Size: 12-24 inches tall and wide

Zones: 5-8

Bloom Time: April-June

Image: Proven Winners

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Buddleia 'Crown Jewels'

Turn your backyard into a butterfly haven with 'Crown Jewels' buddleia. This amazing butterfly bush is prized for its beautiful gold foliage that holds its color all summer long without fading. Plus, each plant sends up an endless supply of magenta purple, nectar-rich flower spikes that will attract butterflies and other pollinators from miles around. The flowers are also delightfully honey scented.

Name: Buddleia 'Crown Jewels'

Growing Conditions: full sun

Size: 3-4 feet tall, 4-5 feet wide

Zones: 5-10

Bloom Time: June-September

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Barberry 'Limoncello'

It's hard to beat 'Limoncello' barberry if you are looking for a colorful, easy-care foundation or specimen plant. This striking newcomer forms tidy mounds of chartreuse foliage that's brushed with splashes of red. And when fall rolls around, the leaves turn into a brilliant mix of red, orange, and yellow.

Name: Barberry 'Limoncello'

Growing Conditions: full sun

Size: 3-4 feet tall and wide

Zones: 4-7

Bloom Time: none

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Lilac 'Tiny Dancer'

Fragrance is probably the first thing you think of when you hear the word lilac. But, sadly, most highly perfumed varieties grow too large and rangy for small gardens. But 'Tiny Dancer' changes all that. This compact lilac produces 5-inch-long trusses of intensely fragrant lavender-pink blooms every spring. Plus the plants are resistant to powdery mildew, a common lilac ailment that disfigures the foliage. And finally, 'Tiny Dancer' will bloom reliably as far south as Zone 8.

Name:Syringia vulgaris 'Tiny Dancer'

Growing Conditions: full sun

Size: 4-5 feet tall, 3-4 feet wide

Zones: 4-8

Bloom Time: May-June

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Elm 'St Croix'

It's been a long time since anyone has written anything positive about elm trees, but finally there's a new, disease-resistant variety of this American icon. 'St. Croix' American elm has a spectacular, open spreading canopy that makes it an ideal choice for a shade or street-side tree. More importantly, 'St. Croix' is highly tolerant to Dutch elm disease, so you know it will be around for a long time. 'St Croix' elm has bright green leaves that turn yellow in the fall.

Name:Ulmus Americana 'St. Croix'

Growing Conditions: full sun

Size: 60-75 feet tall, 70-90 feet wide

Zones: 3-6

Bloom Time: none

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Rose 'Peachy Keen'

Scoring high marks in independent trials across the country 'Peachy Keen' rose is a sure bet to do well in your garden, too. This pretty shrub rose develops a seemingly endless supply of open, shell-pink flowers with yellow centers. It was bred by Bill Radler, the man who came up with 'Knock Out' rose, so you know 'Peachy Keen' has to be just as disease-resistant and hardy.

Name:Rosa 'Peachy Keen'

Growing Conditions: full sun

Size: 2-3 feet tall and wide

Zones: 5-9

Bloom Time: June-September

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Must-Try Hydrangea Varieties

Can't get enough hydrangeas? Here are some more great varieties that might be new to you!